Deadlocked in the bottom of the seventh, Jackson Sirois stepped up to the plate for the Dirty Terps.

Maryland’s third baseman delivered his signature moment as a Terp, launching his first home run in a Maryland uniform to give his team the lead. Two batters later, Brayden Martin clubbed his own home run to give the Terps some breathing room.

Maryland (12-14, 2-6 B1G) snapped its six-game losing streak Saturday, beating No. 12 USC (25-3, 9-2 B1G) 6-4 in College Park. 

Shortstop Ty Kaunas, infielder Sirois, and outfielder Martin all contributed to the Dirty Terps’ win. Each hit a home run during a crucial moment for Maryland. 

Kaunas homered in the fifth, the first of his collegiate career, to give Maryland its first lead of the game. Sirois and Martin’s homers came in the seventh to reclaim and extend the Dirty Terps’ lead.

Despite the late-game fireworks, it was all USC on offense early.

The Trojans got on the board first in the second when right fielder Jack Basseer scored on an RBI double hit by shortstop Dean Carpentier. USC added to its lead in the fourth when designated hitter Augie Lopez homered, giving the Trojans a 2-0 lead.

Maryland got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when centerfielder Bud Coombs hit an RBI single to score David Mendez, cutting USC’s lead down to 2-1. 

Kaunas’ home run in the fifth scored himself and right fielder Aden Hill, flipping the momentum in favor of the Dirty Terps as Maryland now had a 3-2 lead going into the second half of the game. 

USC wouldn’t go down without a fight, as in the top of the seventh inning, infielder Adrian Lopez hit an RBI single, scoring catcher Isaac Cadena and the game was all tied up 3-3. 

The seventh inning sealed the victory for Maryland, with Sirois’ home run, putting the Dirty Terps back on top at 4-3. Martin then hit his two-run homer to score himself and Hill, with Maryland, had its biggest lead of the day at 6-3.

The Trojans did try to pull off a comeback in the ninth inning when infielder Maximo Martinez scored on Lopez’s RBI double, cutting Maryland’s lead to 6-4. But it wasn’t enough as Logan Hastings earned the final two outs and the Dirty Terps took the win.

The series finale between USC and Maryland will be played on Sunday in College Park. Ryan Martin and Jack Zwirn will be on the call for Maryland.